Knitting machine



Feb. 13,1934. SM R 1,946,767

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l WilliamLSmi tl2,Jn

Feb. 13, 1934. w. SMITH, JR ,946,767

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNETE STATES PATENT OFFICE KNITTING MACHINE poration Application May 18, 1928. Serial No. 278,843

r 1 Claim.

My said invention relates to improvements in a dial and cylinder knitting machine and it is an object thereof to provide improved means for controlling the latches of the dial needles in the dial of such a machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of the dial itself.

Referring to the drawings, which are made a part of this application and in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts:

Figure l is a vertical section through the head of a machine to which my improvements are applicable,

Figure 2, a bottom plan of the dial cam plate on line 22, Fig. 3, and

Figure 3, a vertical section on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

In the drawings, wherein Figure 1 is for the most part a re-production of what is shown in Figure 8 of my application N 0. 190,919, filed May 12, 1927, Patent 1,825,370, this being one type of machine to which my improvements are applicable, r ference character 10 indicates a dial post carrying a dial 11. The dial has a set of radial grooves as usual, which grooves are inclined upwardly from the inner end. to the outer end. The inclination preferably is at an angle of about three degrees from the horizontal, though I do not limit myself to this specific inclination. lhe upper surface of the ial is correspondingly inclined or dished. Dial needles 12 are mounted in the slots of the dial for reciprocation in the usual manner and a plate 13 is shown as resting on the upper surface of the dial, said plate serving to limit the inward movement of the needles as more fully explained in my application above referred to. A collar 14 on the dial post limits the upward movement of the plate 13.

Cams for operating the dial needles are carried by the dial plate 15, these cams including needle projecting cams of any conventional or desirable character, here shown as being such cams as described in my application above referred to, i. e., what I call knuckle cams, comprising members 16, 18' pivoted at 17 and having pivotally secured thereto cam elements 18 guided by pins 19 extending into slots in the dial plate. The cam 16 is at the knitting side and the cam 16 is at the casting-off or latch-opening side of the dial.

Guard and retracting cams are secured in fixed relation to the dial plate and these cams may have their under faces slightly convexed to correspond to the concave form of the upper face of the dial. The guard and retracting cams as here shown correspond in all other respects to those of my prior application above referred to, except that I have added at 20 a latch controlling cam at the knitting side of the dial plate said cam being mounted on and secured to the combined guard and retracting cam element 21. This cam 20 has oppositely directed points positioned to engage the latches of empty needles as they are being moved inward into stitch forming position and to hold the latches open in a machine of the character described. This function is of particular importance at the time of transfer from plain work to rib knitting in that the needles moved outward by the needle projecting cams are arrested and moved suddenly back by the retracting cam which action tends to close the latches. The cam 20 has a curved inner surface extending circumferentially from the point 22 on such a line as to prevent the latches from closing. After a needle passes the cam 20 the latch will stay open as there is nothing tending to close it, until it again comes around to the needle retracting position. The cam 20 has two oppositely extending points 22 and 23, point 22 serving to prevent closing of the latches during forward movement of the machine, and point 23 being required during reverse movement, it being then necessary to prevent breaking of the latches on movement in reverse direction.

The cylinder needles 24 are operated by cams on the cam ring 25.

The main advantage of the inclined slot in the dial is that when the dial needles are being projected outward and passing through the brush 26, (Fig. 1) to open the latches of the dial needles the bristles of the brush open the latches much easier and more uniformly than would otherwise be the case if the dial needles were not inclined. As shown in Fig. l the brushes 26 extend radially and horizontally toward the dial. Another advantage is that when the brush 26 has opened the dial needle latches they will stay open in spite of any vibration of the machine.

With inclined slots in the dial as shown the dial needles are positioned so that the latches are inclined so that when the brush strikes these latches they are more easily drawn back toward the center of the dial than they would be if they all were positioned in the same plane with the bristles on the brush. For the same reason after the latches have been opened they will remain in that position by gravity more surely than if they were positioned in a horizontal plane.

The advantage of the latch guard cam 20, (Fig. 2) is that after the needles have passed through the brush 26 for the purpose of opening the latches the needles are suddenly projected outward to the yarn taking position A, (Fig. 2) where the dial needles will begin taking yarn. However, there will be a number of dial needles projected by the cam 16, (Fig. 2) which will not receive yarn until they make one complete revolution and come back to-theyarntaking position A (Fig. 2).

The dial needles which will not receive yarn when first projected are those which appear between the point 22 of the latch guard cam (Fig. 2) and the yarn-taking position A (Fig. 2).

The sudden movement of these dial needles which do not receive yarn tends to cause the dial needle latches to close, therefore the function of the latch guard cam 20 (Fig. 2) is to catch the latch and prevent it from closing as shown at C (Fig. 3).

Another advantage of the concave form of the dial resides in the fact that the space for the inside circle of the needles 'is enlarged, it being now conical instead of a flat plane, whereby more room is provided for the cutting of needle slots and therefore it is possible to provide a greater number of needle slots in the dial than would otherwise be the case, i. e., the number of needles in the dial can be increased.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as set forth in the appended claim.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

In a knitting machine, a needle dial having a set of radially movable latch needles therein, a dial-plate, guard and retracting cams secured in fixed relation to the dial plate, one on the knitting side of and. one on the casting off side of the dial, a latch controlling cam mounted on and secured to the guard and retracting cam on the knitting side of the dial and positioned outwardly from the inner edge of said guard and retracting cam, said latch controlling cam having oppositely directed/points positioned to engage the latches of empty needles to holdthem open to prevent breaking them as the needles are being moved inward to stitchforming position, substantially as set forth.

WILLIAM L..SMITH, JR. 

